Vietnam Village Area Goes for Green Tourism and 1.5m Visitors

Keeping tourism in harmony with the environment has been a priority for a project to develop Moc Chau’s remote, mostly Thai-speaking Chieng Yen Village in Phu Mau Commune.

"We hope that the Moc Chau Tourism Site, when it opens in 2015, will attract over 1,5 million visitors each year," says says Dr Nguyen Minh Duc. The province also plans to hold a culture week titled Moc Chau Plateau – A Paradise for Green Tourism in 2010.

The year-long project, supported by the Netherlands Development Organisation SNV World, was promoted as a model for eco-tourism. It wrapped up last year. "The consultancy programme included surveys of potential tourism sites and the potential market for tourists," says chief planner of the Son La Province’s Trade and Tourist Department Nguyen Dinh Phong.

The village, 330m above sea level, was selected from 16 other sites because of its natural landscape, traditional occupations and culture. It is home to 90 families – most of them farmers.

"The commune is one of Moc Chau District’s poorest villages," says Phong. "But it has the potential for tourism development."

Apart from the peaceful landscape, tourists visiting the village will have the chance to taste its culture and enjoy the peaceful life of the local community. These features distinguish the village from other popular tourist destinations, argues Son La Trade and Tourism deputy director Nguyen Van Binh.

"Tourism development could help eliminate poverty," he says.

Although the SNV consultancy programme has ended, the work has motivated the district’s administrators to continue with the idea. A provincial Trade and Tourism Department team is working on establishment of the eco-tourism model and the Moc Chau District is a part of the effort.

The project focuses on how to develop eco-tourism so that it eradicates poverty. It includes a collection of the information necessary to establish an eco-tourism model. The information will be disseminated to villagers so that they understand the concept of eco-tourism and adapt themselves to tourism services. "Every aspect of eco-tourism in the region will be covered," says Phong. This will include development of service skills and, most importantly, awareness of the need to preserve traditional values and the environment.

Promising results information about tourism in Moc Chau District has been widely disseminated among tour companies and tourists. The provincial Trade and Tourism Department has organised many fact-finding tours of the village to introduce tourism-industry representatives to the model that combines eco-tourism with poverty eradication.

"The village has welcomed more than 300 visitors," says Phong. "Although this is not a considerable number, it signals that investment will attract more visitors."

Dissemination of information about the model to the villagers has motivated people to protect the environment and conserve traditional values, he says. The planner is confident that the draft project will not only ensure the village’s development, it will also help eradicate poverty in the remote northern highlands.

Moc Chau Tourism Site has been listed as one of Viet Nam’s priority projects until 2015, says Dr Nguyen Minh Duc, head of Son La Province’s Moc Chau Tourism Site’s Management Board. Duc says that a 442ha area had been allotted for development of a central resort area with a golf course blended into the surrounding Moc Chau dairy farm.

Bo Nhang site would include a multi-purpose sports training centre and a healthcare centre, he says, while Chieng Yen site would offer hot mineral springs and a cruise on Hoa Binh hydroelectric reservoir project.

A 4.7km road into the centre area is expected to be finished by the end of this year, he adds, and over 15 domestic and foreign partners from China and France have registered to invest in various aspects of the project.

"The Son La Province aims to preserve a number of villages including Chieng Yen for agriculture and avoid disrupting the lives of local people while, at the same time, encouraging more farmers to take advantage of tourism," Duc says.

Valere Tjolle